ABC Drama Sinks to Series Low — Along With Fox’s Full Prime-Time Lineup

An ABC drama series fell to a series ratings low Tuesday night, based on Nielsen overnights for the key 18-49 demo, as NBC eked out a narrow win over CBS for prime time overall. Meanwhile, the entire Fox prime-time lineup set or equaled series lows.

TVbytheNumbers.com reports that ABC’s "Marvels Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." fell to a series-low 2.2 average in 18-49, shedding 12% from a week ago.

Other ABC programs showed improvement. "The Goldbergs" rose 13% from its series low a week ago, delivering a 1.7 average in the 18-49 demo, and "Trophy Wife" climbed 9% to a 1.2. The special program "Scandal for Real: The Top 10 Political Scandals of the Century" scored a 0.8, improving 14% on the number delivered by a Robin Roberts special in the 10 p.m. time slot a week ago.

The results for Fox were grim. "Dads" lost 14% from the previous week to set a series low with a 1.2 in 18-49, "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" equaled its series low with a 1.4, falling 13% from a week ago, "New Girl" dipped to a new series low with a 1.7, off 15%, and "The Mindy Project" matched its series low, a 1.3, losing 13%.

NBC had mixed results, with "The Biggest Loser" falling 10% from last week in the 18-49 demo to a 1.9, "Chicago Fire" rising 5% to a 2.0 and "The Voice" holding steady with a 3.4.

Second-place CBS got consistent numbers out of its drama lineup: a 2.9 for "NCIS" in adults 18-49, the same as last week; a 2.4 for "NCIS: Los Angeles," also matching last week’s number; and a 2.0 for "Person of Interest," up 5%.

For prime time overall, NBC’s 2.5 average rating in viewers 18-49 was just good enough to win the night, topping CBS (2.4 average), ABC (1.5), Fox (1.4) and Univision (1.3). But CBS finished with a huge lead in total viewers, averaging 15.5 million to lead NBC (8.5 million), ABC (4.6 million), Univision (3.6 million) and Fox (3.1 million).